If you remember “The Spirit of Accounting,” perhaps you’re as surprised as I am to see it published again. If you don’t recall, this column appeared in almost every Accounting Today issue from 1996 to 2016, consistently challenging leaders and practitioners to improve our collective contributions to our society and
Maximizing investments is a goal for every investor and if you want to help your clients realize a better net after-tax, these tips can help. Realizing better net after-tax returns is possible with the right strategic approach. 1. Review and Update Asset Location and Allocation Clients want to save money
If you’re just joining us, part one in this series explains the basics of Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, formerly Form 1040X. It also offers advice on how to submit a 1040-X. Change of filing status. Let’s suppose a married couple experienced marital problems and decided to file separate 1040s
Tax resolutions aren’t for every accountant, but it can be lucrative if you know the right way to deal with them. For any tax pro, soorner or later their clients need to resolve back tax debt. This inevitably leads to many hours of dealing with the IRS, going through the
What does it mean to be an ‘authentic’ accountant and how can this actually help your practice? In her opening keynote address at AccountingWEB Live Summit, Jina Etienne, CPA, CGMA dove right in to address the issue of accountants not truly embracing who they are as people, having to play
Accountants across America are facing the serious issue of capacity management, which has shown itself to be complicated to understand and has left practitioners struggling to find a viable solution. Many attempt to handle the increasing amount of work available by hiring more staff members, but Will Baker says there’s
The basic focus of the Section 183 hobby loss provisions is on Section 162 and its “ordinary and necessary” criteria for deducting business expenses and losses. It also mentions the Section 212 investment expense provisions. If your activity is considered not-for-profit rather than a business, the tax rules can find taxable
Sometimes history repeats itself. Years ago, when I was a financial advisor in Brooklyn, New York, a large number of people leaving Eastern Europe, where inflation was high, and settling in the United States. When it came to investing, some people assumed all stocks went up in price, and some
The accounting profession is undergoing a reexamination of its efforts to address the lack of diversity, not only in the U.S. but in other parts of the world. Last month, the Institute of Management Accountants, the California Society of CPAs and the International Federation of Accountants released a global survey
For some of your high-net-worth clients, the financial strategy of liquidating life insurance via a life settlement comes with tax implications. Life settlement taxation is governed by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), signed into law by former President Trump in early-2018. TCJA created a more favorable